Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

3.06 vs 3.20 - Is Turbo Boost worth $300?

M

mark-itguy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 22, 2007
106
0
Looking at a 21.5" iMac. I understand the differences between the 3.06 base model at $1,199 and the 3.20 model for $1,499. Intended use is iPhoto and Aperture, Office, etc... And for work, a lot of VMware Fusion time.

I don't game, so I know I won't really benefit much with the faster GPU & extra VRAM the more expensive model has. And I don't really need the extra disk space, as I use external drives for most everything.

The 3.20 model has the Intel Turbo Boost feature in its CPU. My question is, is that feature worth $300? As I understand it, this feature is aimed at helping applications that can not leverage the multi-cores. Since the apps listed above presumably multi-thread and can leverage the dual-cores, my guess is that I should not really benefit from Turbo Boost?

Thoughts?
 
As far as I know the i3 3.2Ghz does not have turbo boost despite what apple may claim, it just has hyperthreading. The i5 3.6Ghz does indeed have TB along with HT but that is the BTO model (plus an extra $200)
 
Simba37 is right. The difference between the 3.06 and 3.20 iMac is down to the slightly faster processor, a better graphics card and a bigger hard drive. They both have i3 processors so do not have the turbo-boost facility.

If you want the turbo-boost feature on the 21.5" iMac you have to order the 3.60 i5 processor as a BTO option on the high-end 21.5" iMac for an additional $200 (making $1699 in total).
 
besides the obvious 3.2 vs 3.06 ghz frequency i was just about to shell out the extra 300 coins for the turbo boost i3 3.2 ghz, as listed in the apple spec database section.
after digging on the net for confirmation, and after founding none, i choosed the base one, no i3 has turbo boost option, even intel database shows that pretty clearly, unless apple has it's own black-magic-voodoo i3's :rolleyes:
 
I ordered my 21.5" i5 last week and its currently on route to be delivered on the 19th. After much deliberation I chose that model as I am limited by size but I wanted as much horsepower and HD space as possible to future proof it for about 4 years. I was very surprised about how good the dual core i5 3.6GHz did on Geekbench. Everyone has there own reasons so I'm sure you'll be served well by the baseline i3.
 
The i3-550 does not support Turbo Boost, in fact, no i3 CPU does. You don't game so just get the base iMac and spend the difference in RAM and external HD if needed
 
Apple's description is a little confusing:

i3 = hyperthreading but no turbo-boost.
3.6GHz i5 = hyperthreading AND turbo-boost.
2.8GHz i5 = turbo-boost but NO hyperthreading.
2.93GHz i7 = hyperthreading AND turbo-boost.
 
Chundles said:
Apple's description is a little confusing:

i3 = hyperthreading but no turbo-boost.
3.6GHz i5 = hyperthreading AND turbo-boost.
2.8GHz i5 = turbo-boost but NO hyperthreading.
2.93GHz i7 = hyperthreading AND turbo-boost.
Click to expand...

And some more info because some people still get confused about which ones are dual and quad-core :

i3 =2 cores + 2 virtual cores = 4 threads NO Turbo-boost
i5 3.6Ghz = 2 cores + 2 virtual cores = 4 threads AND Turbo-boost
i5 2.8GHz = 4 cores AND Turbo-boost, but NO virtual cores
i7 2.93GHz = 4 cores + 4 virtual cores = 8 threads AND Turbo-boost
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back